A/N: Holy hippo spit! An update?! YAY! Gotta warn ya though, this chapter gets a bit gory and gross in parts.

Today's installment brought to you by the shiny and new 'Any Art Forum' (www.tmntfan.nl/forum/index.php) that was recently created by engelina. It's just what it sounds; a place to discuss and share any kind of art form. Be it original or from any fandom.

GameGoddess76 – Thank you for the review! Glad you're enjoying this story, and I hope you can bear to stick it out just a little while longer for Raph and Tau to sort themselves out. There are a couple of little instances in this chapter that I think you might appreciate. ;)

aj13power – Hunting my work down here at FFNet, two reviews and adding me to your fav story/author alerts? I can't tell you how happy that made me to see the other day after all the upheaval that's been happening in my neck of the woods. Thank you most very muchly for all your support. -hugs-

artykidd – What would I do without you chica? I do know this series wouldn't be as good without your insightful reviews and great work picking up my flubs. And having your shoulder to lean on has been just wonderful. Thank you. -glomps-

CPQ – Many thanks to you too chica for helping to beta this story. It's always great to catch up with you. :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

------- -------

Edgardo was barely conscious as the two women settled him on a makeshift cot upon the floor. It was little more than a long wooden box filled with dank straw that was covered with a woollen blanket. Kirabo arrived only to be ordered away to fetch more blankets by his mother. However, as Edgardo came to, he slapped Tau hard on the arm, forcing her to step away from him.
"Don' yoo touchsh mee." he slurred; partly due to his pain, mainly because of the effects of the 'medicinal' rum. "I'zsh a goood God-fearin' man! I don' wanna devils' whore touchin' me!"

"I'm trying to help you!" scowled Tau in aggravation.
"NO! OUT! Ge' out!" snarled Edgardo, trying to sit up as he flung his arm towards the door, despite Amadika holding him down.
"You heard the man!" Amadika snapped. Tau stood in shock a moment, anger making her turn on her heel to stalk from the room, almost bumping into Kirabo as he tried to enter with his stack of blankets.

Pacing with clenched fists in the narrow hall, Tau muttered darkly to herself. She was rehearsing a speech she knew would fall on deaf and inebriated ears regarding just why she couldn't be considered a whore in any real sense of the word, when the full implications of what Edgardo had said hit her. She doubted he would call his Captain a 'devil'. Surely then he was referring to Raph; as a fiendish whoremonger!

Seeing red Tau stormed back into the compartment.
"How dare you!" she snarled down at the old man. "You have no right to suggest Raph is anything but honourable. After all the turtles have put up with to help you...!" Edgardo cut her off with a garbled, enraged yell; again so agitated he almost lifted himself out of the cot. Amadika forcefully pushed him back down before leaping up to grab Taus' arm in a vice-like grip, shoving the girl back out into the hallway.

Not finished with the screaming match between herself and Edgardo, Tau resisted the old woman. She was shocked to discover just how much strength the scrawny African had, especially as she dealt Tau a stinging slap to her face.
"He needs rest!" scolded Amadika. "You stay out here." she ordered brusquely. Taken aback by the assault to her cheek, Tau couldn't gather her wits enough to retort before Amadika swiftly returned to the room to settle her patient.

Furious, Tau vented her frustration on the wall. She only punched the wood panelling once before she figured that wasn't the smartest idea, sucking on her grazed knuckles to ease the pain. Pacing once more, she started to feel foolish for letting Edgardo rile her so. The old guy was in a lot of pain, and there was nothing she could've accomplished by yelling at him like that.

What could she hope to accomplish here at all; left behind for her own safety when the lives of her closest friends were at stake mere meters above her head? Could she trust Iagos' promise he'd aid the turtles, or even his assertion that he'd only spotted one of them currently involved in the battle? What if something had happened to Raph? Or Mike? Or...any of them!?

Tau settled Iagos' jacket she still wore, steadfastly securing its' buttons. It wasn't much, but the thick material would afford her far better protection than her singlet alone. Gripping the punch dagger in her left hand, the small utility knife in the other, Tau set her resolve and climbed the ladder. She was determined to show these old fashioned chauvinists just how well women could fight to help defend those they cared for; 21st Century style.

-------- --------

Despite the round of laughter from their enemies at Iago, Nataniel and Alejandro joining the fray, Leo breathed a sigh of relief for having others adept at this kind of warfare fighting along-side him. It was obvious, however, that the outcome of the battle was still teetering on the balance. The enemy held the advantage with greater numbers of skilled and well armed fighters, who were able to work together more cohesively.

Meeting Iagos' eyes, Leo gave the Spaniard a nod in thanks. Not only for the much needed aid, but for what Leo guessed was the Captains' foresight to leave a man behind to guard the women and kid. He hoped that was the reason Tau hadn't made an appearance; it wouldn't do to start second-guessing his allies' motives at this moment. Though he did catch himself wishing she would head out onto the deck; so he could see for himself that she was okay, and to give him an extra fighter for their cause. For all her inexperience, he had to admit Tau had come a long way in her training with his family. She'd be handy to have on-side right about now...

Putting his hopes and thoughts out of his head, Leo focused solely on the battle once more.

-------- --------

Cautiously Tau crept out of the hatch. Seeing the melee up-close made the bile rise in her throat. Everywhere she looked, people were getting killed or inflicting horrific wounds upon one another. There was nothing to shield her from what she was witnessing; it wasn't like it was being portrayed on a screen to keep it safely aside from her own reality.

Even in the last conflict she'd been involved with, whilst she had been vaguely aware that some of the Purple Dragons the turtles had defeated on Halloween wouldn't rise again, she'd been unable to really see much detail of that battle beyond the dell she had been trapped in for the most part. And this time Tau felt utterly alone, exposed to the horror; no Casey or April to stand beside her, no turtles forming a protective cordon around her.

She quickly spotted Leo moving among the throng. Compared to those surrounding him his movements were full of fluidity and grace, his blades acting as a natural extension of his body. For a moment Tau wondered if she was being obscene; seeing such beauty in one who was cutting through flesh and bone without hesitation.

But then she saw Leo clash with a sailor wielding a wickedly long knife in one hand, a metal gauntlet strapped to his other arm. Leos' opponent obviously knew what he was doing with his weapons, blocking the turtles' strikes to inflict a deep cut to his cheek, nicking the blue bandanna. Tau realised in that moment that Leo had little choice in being so ruthless, if they were to have any chance of winning this fight.

Desperately she scanned the crowded deck in the hopes of spotting any of his brothers. Tears threatened as Tau felt her panic rising, until a sailor she didn't recognise vaulted the railing where the two ships were bound together, onto the deck of the Halcon del Mar. Brandishing a knife of his own, the brute licked his lips as he approached, giving her an arrogant smirk.

Outraged at his look and determined that Iago couldn't be right, refusing to believe that Leo was the last turtle standing, Tau gripped her weapons firmly. She swallowed her fear and charged her adversary with a fierce battle cry.

Taus' yell barely registered with Leo, lost as it was among the clamour. Iagos' shout a couple of minutes later did however;
"Dear God! My Lady NO!"

Leo captured his current foes' blade with his swords. That earned him a chance to glance away in time to see Tau deliver the leap-kick that toppled her opponent over the side of the Halcon del Mar, into the sea below. Her face set in grim resolution; she ignored Iago to jump up onto the railing of Leos' ship.
"TAU!" yelled Leo, gaining her attention. Freeing one hand from his own struggle for a moment, he had to give a brief grin as she followed his quick series of hand signals without pause.

Tau raced along the railing, climbing up to the stern deck. She was quick enough to evade meaty hands grasping at her, ducking down to hamstring the burly sailor who was busy tossing any natives that came within his reach overboard. As soon as the man toppled backwards, Tau ducked out of the way of the natives who surged forwards to take their revenge upon him.

Feeling she was on a roll, adrenaline surging through her, Tau jumped back down onto the main deck, landing upon another enemy sailor to knock the wind out of him. Her follow-through punch knocked him unconscious. Figuring her best bet was to stick by Leo, and hoping he might get a chance to tell her what had happened to his brothers, Tau set about trying to fight and shove her way down the deck towards him.

Unfortunately, she soon lost sight of her friend among the milling confusion; sure he had been situated by the main mast. Once she eventually reached the large pole however, Tau couldn't catch sight of him anywhere. Distracted as she was with her search, she didn't notice the tall, wiry sailor approaching that grabbed her from behind. In an instant he had one hand wrapped over her mouth, the other around her waist pinning her left arm. He shoved her hard against the mast, trapping her right arm with enough force to swiftly make it numb, lifting her bodily off the ground. Try as she might, Tau couldn't seem to connect a solid kick to his legs.

"What's this then?" he crooned in her ear, his breath foul with rum and rotten teeth. "Seems there's spoils to be had from this fracas after all." Shaking her head vigorously, Tau managed to bite down on one of his fingers, tasting blood. The sailor merely chuckled. "Good. I like 'em with a bit o' spirit; makes 'em last longer. Me an' me mates have been at sea a mighty long time to go without the comfort of a woman." Tau redoubled her struggle against him, screaming in vain against his hand as he ran his tongue up the side of her throat.

She nicked her fingers as she turned the punch dagger in her left fist. Positioning the blade so it was jutting past her wrist, Tau jabbed it backwards into her captors' thigh. A dull 'thunk' of metal on wood made her heart sink. Surely he didn't have a wooden leg; wasn't that kind of junk only Hollywood myth? The sailor didn't cry out, but went stiff for a moment, before suddenly dropping her to the deck. Glancing back up at him, punch-dagger at the ready for another reverse strike, Tau was shocked to see he was dead. His body still twitched slightly despite being pinned to the mast, his throat skewered with a sai.

Hurriedly picking herself up she craned over the crowd to see Mike launch himself with a high leap into the fray. A strip of red fabric fluttered briefly above the throng between her and her orange-clad friend, Tau oblivious to the tears of joyous relief tracking down her cheeks.

A huge, dark-skinned sailor suddenly blocked her line of sight, his arm raised to backhand her. Despite his naked chest being fairly open for her to attack, Tau instinctively cowered instead, his fist ruffling her hair as it swept above her head. Stumbling backwards, Tau whimpered as the giant stepped after her. Unthinking, she tried to ward him off, pushing at him with both fists as he locked his hands about her throat.

Despite the tingling in her right arm as the blood flow returned to it, Tau could feel the warm slime wash over her hand. She'd sunk the utility knife she'd forgotten she was holding into his gut, making a long cut her hand all but disappeared into. The nauseating smell of his split intestine hit her like a slap, making her reel.

The sailor reflected her stunned look for a moment, briefly touching his bulging innards in disbelief before he toppled forwards. The deck underfoot slick with fresh blood and bile, distracted in trying to dislodge her hand and blade from his abdomen and hampered by the body of a native lying behind her, Tau couldn't move in time to avoid the falling sailor.

The force of him hitting her pushed the air from her lungs, and Tau found herself trapped under the man's hefty weight. She guessed she should consider herself lucky, the other corpse close behind her prevented her from being totally crushed. She tried to yell out for help as she saw a pair of green feet dash past her. Her voice was lost to the din as her limited view returned to being filled only with dozens of shifting human feet; bare and in boots.

Trying to stop herself from panicking as she felt the fluids from the dead man soaking into her clothes, Tau took stock of her situation. She left the utility knife embedded where it was; she doubted she could wrench it free now, and was in no mind to want to keep the weapon. A pain in her other hand reminded her she still held the punch-dagger. Not wanting to lose one of the turtles' blades, knowing how hard it was for them to acquire such things, Tau gingerly closed the dagger and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans.

Bracing her back against the deck, she wriggled until she could get both hands against the broad chest pinning her down. Psyching herself up to push she was making a mental count in her head;
'One...two...th-'
"OOF!" a second body landing atop the giant above her winded her again; twitching legs that quickly stilled blocking most of her view.

Realising she now had no hope of freeing herself, Tau tried to relax using the meditation techniques Splinter had taught her. All she had to do was wait until the battle resolved and someone, hopefully a good someone, would come to free her. Right? How hard could that be? How long could it possibly take? She had no idea; her mind quickly succumbing to an interminable silent scream.

-------- --------

Leo was looking about desperately for Tau; sure she had jumped down to the main deck at just this point in front of the stern cabin. Shoving through a group of natives, he climbed partway up the stair to the higher stern-deck to get a better view. He almost rubbed his eyes in astonishment; not seeing the girl, but spotting Raph cutting a swathe through the opposition as he made a bee-line towards the main mast, Mike covering his brothers' back.

"Where's Don?" Leo fretted out-loud to himself. Leaning over the railing, looking towards the place he estimated his brothers had scaled the side of the boat, he spotted the dinghy bobbing below in the shadow of the enemy vessel still bound to his ship. It was hard to differentiate the four silhouettes sitting in the bottom of the small boat, but he was almost certain it was Don he saw give him a small wave. Chuckling weakly in relief, Leo waved in return.

Looking back out across the main deck Leo resisted the urge to relax, despite the protests for rest from every muscle in his body. It was becoming clear that, with the arrival of his brothers, the enemy sailors were starting to break, realising their cause was lost. It seemed none of them were about to go down easily however. Leo resettled his grip on the handles of his katana before he jumped down, meeting yet another in battle.

A short while later Leo managed to cut down one more enemy. He glanced about to find his next adversary when he realised that, finally, there were no rival sailors left standing.
"You!" Leo turned at the yell from his brother. "You damn idiotic lunatic!" Raph accused irately, natives quick to scramble out of his way as he marched up to get in Leos' face. "What were you thinking, leaving us behind like that?" demanded Raph, scowling deeply.
"Well I... Uh!?" Leo failed to make his argument as Raph suddenly clutched him tight in a fierce bear hug. Returning his brothers' strong embrace, a crooked smile invading his face, Leo knew there was no need for words in that moment.

"So." started Raph matter-of-factly, ending the hug as abruptly as he'd begun it to hold Leo at arms' length. "Where the hell is Tau?"

-------- --------

Tau had her eyes clenched shut, cringing as far back into the wooden deck as she possibly could in a useless attempt to escape the weight and entrails crushing down on her. Time seemed to have deserted her; she had no clue what was happening beyond her cell of corpses. As far as she knew, 10 minutes or 10 hours could have passed when a familiar voice finally broke through the white noise battering the inside of her skull.
"TAU? TAU! Where is she?! TAU! For fucks' sake answer me girl! Please?"

"Here! I'm HERE!" she screamed, terrified by how far away Raph sounded, and realising he was moving further away from her. She broke into hoarse noisy sobs as she felt some of the weight lifted off of her as the top body was removed, the second body quickly being shifted as well. Tau had never felt so grateful to see another's face in all her life, babbling "Thank you, thank you...!" as Nataniel stepped over her to roll the hefty cadaver to one side. Iago was quick to crouch beside her, his face full of worry. Half a dozen natives gathered about, peering down at the scene.

"My dear, are you alright? Are you hurt?" pressed Iago, offering her a hand as she scrabbled to get up. Feeling an overwhelming need to get away from where she had been trapped Tau took his offer, quick to snatch her hand back once she was on her feet. The way her clothes clung to her as she stood came as an unsavoury reminder of what they were soaked in. Tau tentatively glanced down at herself to see she was coated practically head to toe in blood, and worse.

With a little shriek she flinched backwards, in an insane attempt to recoil from the revolting layer caked onto her own skin. Concerned, Iago stepped after her, opening his arms to wrap her in an embrace.
"No. NO! DON'Ttouch ME!" panicked Tau, her eyes wild as she quick-stepped back away from him again. The natives milling nearby gave the pair a wide berth as Iago insisted on moving closer, his arms still spread wide.

Iagos' advance was brought to an abrupt halt. A hand on his shoulder yanked him about before Raph punched him square in the face with enough force to send him flying. The Spaniard skidded to a halt some distance away, sprawled on his back on the deck.
"She said 'NO'!" Raph snarled, stalking towards Iago, eager fists clenched. Nataniel and Alejandro both stepped into Raphs' path, ready to defend their Captain. Mike grasped Raphs' arm, hoping to stop him from going berserk and ploughing through the two to get to his main quarry; Leo quick to make his way through the crowd to the standoff as well.

"Let it pass Nate, Alik." grunted Iago, picking himself up to shake the stars from his vision. "I'm not hurt at all." he assured, tossing a dark look of contempt at the hot-head. With a growl Raph lurched toward his antagonist, almost pulling Mike off his feet. To his credit, Iago barely flinched under the evil glower from the turtle.

"Stand-down Raph." ordered Leo, his voice deliberately calm and firm. "This is no time to be fighting among ourselves."
"Yes, my friend." Iago gave as insincere smile as he could, given half his face was already starting to swell. "Don't you think she has seen enough violence for one evening?" he nodded towards Tau.

Everyone took that cue to look back over to the girl. She was a pitiful sight; shivering with reaction as she cowered where she stood, her eyes were glazed over as her lips moved in incoherent whispers. Her hand hovered over her arm as if she were afraid to touch herself.
"She needs you now bro." Mike murmured to Raph, giving him a light push in Taus' direction in encouragement. "That loser can wait."

Raph knew Mike was right, though he paused to glance back at Iago with a snarl and itchy fists. Seeing Leo take a step towards the girl out of the corner of his eye, Raph grabbed his blue-clad brother by the rim of his shell, shoving Leo out of his way as he walked swiftly past.

Tau glanced up, abject fear in her eyes, as Raph drew close to her.
"Don't touch me!" she whispered desperately, making him stop a few steps short.
"Why not?" he asked bluntly, his harsh words making a stronger shudder surge through her body.
"Not clean." she whispered, her eyes glazing over again. "I feel so dirty. Get it off? Please, get it off?" she begged in a strangely detached monotone.

"Okay." Raph soothed as best he could, holding up his hands to placate her. "I'm gonna have ta touch you to do that." he pointed out as she flinched away from him. Tau vigorously shook her head.
"Then you'll be dirty too!" she argued quietly, her voice cracking badly as she shrank back even further. Gritting his teeth and doing his best to ignore the painful lump in his throat, Raph stepped forward to capture her shoulders in a strong grip. Tau cried out in dismay, trying to wriggle from his grasp until he gave her a sharp shake that seemed to snap her out of her struggle, though her eyes still rolled wildly.

"Here!" he urged indicating his eyes with his two fingers, drawing her gaze to lock with his. "Stay focused here. I can help you. Trust me; you can't make me 'dirty'. 'k?" Tau continued to stare wide-eyed at him a moment, still shivering badly.
"'k." she finally breathed.
"Good." he forced a strained smile, not breaking eye contact with her. Raph gently grasped both her shoulders again to guide her towards the stern cabin, careful not to touch her anymore than was necessary. "I'm gonna need some water Leo." he called to his brother.

"Hmph!" grunted Iago, addressing Leo and Mike as the pair disappeared into the cabin. "You're brother has no idea how to treat a Lady. The poor girl needs comforting, not to have her brains rattled inside her head. And, I might point out, she told him not to touch her either." he derided.
"Yeah? Well Tau aint your 'run of the mill' Lady, bone-head." retorted Mike emphatically, before Leo could speak. "It's obvious Raph knows what she needs more than you do, and she trusts him too!"
"Mike." Leo warned softly. His brother ignored him completely.
"No way you would've gotten her to calm down that quickly. And she sure as hell wouldn't have agreed to let a sleazeball like you wash her...! Oh! Ah, heh heh..." Mike petered out, a light colour rising on his cheeks as a quirky grin crept onto his face. Leo rolled his eyes briefly.

"Of course not!" scoffed Iago in indignation. "I would never be so uncouth as to suggest such a thing of a maiden in distress!"
"Yeah, right." muttered Mike sarcastically, earning himself a sharp glower from the Captain.
"Ok, that's enough Mikey." Leo reprimanded lightly. "There's no point arguing over it now, not when we all still have work to do. I'll check on Don, then fetch Raph some water and keep an eye on things there to make sure they don't get out of hand. Though I don't think we have too much to worry about in regards to anything inappropriate occurring." he added emphatically, mainly for his brothers' benefit. "Mike; find some of the natives that speak our language to help you and take stock of how they've all fared. Iago; I want you to..."
"I need to see to my crew and ship." interjected Iago, his crew-men quick to follow him as he strode away towards the Halcon del Mar.

"Sheesh! Tau is right, that guy is a jerk!" muttered Mike, quick to put his hands up in deference to the stern look his brother gave him before he scampered away on his errand. Shaking his head slowly at Mikes' antics, Leo made his way over to the railing where the dingy had been moored. The natives that were gathered around the point easily parted to allow him a path through. However, he had to step back briefly as a sodden islander clambered over the rail.

Gaining a chance to peer down at the small craft overshadowed by the two larger vessels, Leo had to squint in an effort to determine who was who in the darkness.
"Don? Are you ok?" he called, curious as to why his brother hadn't scaled the hull yet.
"Yeah Leo, I'm alright for the moment." came Dons' answer, helping Leo to pick-out the silhouette of his sibling. Don was lying back against the side of the boat near the prow, one villager huddled alongside him. An old native stood near the stern, aiding another already climbing the rope.

"Are you going to come up?" asked Leo.
"I can't just yet." replied Don. "I don't have the strength to climb up myself. I'm going to have to be winched up with the dingy."
"You're hurt?" exclaimed Leo in worry. "I'll get you hoisted up straight away..." he turned away, looking for help from the surrounding natives.

"No! Leo don't!" called Don, relieved to see his brother lean back over the rail to listen to him. "I'm a bit battered, but I'm stable. There were quite a few natives that fell overboard, and the blood in the water has already started attracting sharks. It's easier for them to climb into the dinghy. And it seems my new friend here considers me good luck!" The old man paused in helping the last of his kinsmen get started climbing the rope to nod his ready agreement. "We're gonna head out to see if there are any others in need of rescue who can't swim back here."

"But Don...!"
"Leo." the brainiac staunchly interceded. "Given the medical technology available in this period, or rather lack thereof, there's nothing else we can do to assist my recovery other than bed-rest. I'm likely just as comfortable here as you will be able to make me up there. And in the time it would take for the dingy to be hoisted and let back down again, we could very well lose more innocent lives."

"Are you sure?" pressed Leo, concerned for the way Dons' voice was starting to waiver, straining to see for himself the extent of his brothers' injuries.
"Yes Leo, I'm sure." deadpanned Don. "Besides, having my weight in the bottom of the dinghy helps to stabilize it, making it less likely to capsize as my friend here hauls people aboard."
"Oddly enough Don, that doesn't reassure me." Leo quipped in light sarcasm, raising his voice to make his point as the old man pushed the dingy away from the ship regardless.
"Sorry bro!" called Don, giving a wave goodbye. With a scowl Leo returned the gesture curtly before he turned away to his next task of fetching water for Raph.